Melbourne council locks up prominent site for park
EXCLUSIVE
Another council will invest developer contributions on a locked-up site to repurpose as a park.
The City of Melbourne is striking the deal for 161-179 Stubbs Street, Kensington (image, top, Google Street View), with state government arm VicTrack.
On the north east corner of Macaulay Road, opposite Moonee Ponds Creek and Macaulay station, the 2364 square metre block accommodates a historic water pump.
Also for the purposes of flood mitigation, that building would be preserved as part of a redevelopment with new infrastructure.
Local building “exceeded expectation”: council
Three major build to rent apartment buildings are under construction or nearing completion immediately around it.
In a motion approved unanimously last week, Councillor Rohan Leppert said local development has exceeded expectation “with thousands of new residents to move into the precinct in the short term” (story continues below).
The Kensington parcel – known in local planning as the ‘drainage land’ site – has been locked up for decades, earmarked for Melbourne Water to use and possibly buy.
At the border of North Melbourne and a 90 hectare precinct affected by the Macaulay Precinct Structure Plan, an urban growth strategy, the property is about three kilometres from the CBD.
Elsewhere in Melbourne, recently, the City of Stonnington outlaid $10m for a dwelling on 3934 sqm at Glen Iris, also to repurpose as a park.
North of town, the City of Merri-Bek spent $16m on a prominent Bell St, Pascoe Vale South, parcel, previously earmarked for high rise apartments.
Spreading 6634 sqm with three street frontages, part will be reused for public space with the balance to be sold for development.
West of town meanwhile, the City of Brimbank recently agreed to sell a car park near Sunshine station to Vietnamese Museums Australia which plans to build a five level exhibition hall.
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